Pure Data: Visual programming of sound

pure data random notes

Pure Data is an Open Source programming environment for making music that has an interesting graphical interface. It runs fine on my old iBook under Mac OS and there is a slightly older version in the Ubuntu repositories for Ubuntu 8.10 that runs very fast on my Asus Pundit box using the ALSA sound interface.

I think the programming metaphor will also go down well with younger people – drag boxes and define objects, and then connect the boxes together and the sound signal flows from top to bottom. Miller Puckette based the open source Pure Data on a previous commercial project (MAS), and provides online access to his book, The Theory and Technique of Electronic Music.

I found out about Pure Data from David Toop’s Haunted Weather, a copy of which was in my Christmas stocking this year [ thanks Joan! ].

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